Mashable

The most important thing about the new MacBook isn't necessarily what it is now, but what it represents.

This is the future.

The Apple Watch might be Apple's newest product category, but for a lot of us, the most exciting new product to come out of Cupertino is the new MacBook.

Apple's newest laptop is impossibly thin, incredibly light and has a screen that's to die for. Oh yeah, it also comes in gold. Yes, there are compromises — and no, this is not the notebook for every user. But make no mistake, the new MacBook represents the new direction for laptops.

Welcome to the future of computing.

12 inches

Size of the screen

2 lbs.

How much it weighs

$1,299

Starting price

30% less

Power consumed

SIZE & WEIGHT

Weighing in at just 2 pounds and a hair over half an inch thick (at its chunkiest point), the new MacBook has been completely redesigned to be Apple's most portable notebook ever.

Reading about the new MacBook, it was hard for me to wrap my mind around just how much smaller — how much thinner — the new notebook is compared to its predecessors.

In my day-to-day life, I alternate between using a 13-inch MacBook Air at work and a 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina at home. The MacBook Air is already an incredibly thin and light machine. Yes, there are other machines on the market that are lighter — but the MacBook Air has pretty much set the standard for what we see as a notebook going into 2015.

That's why it's jarring to see just how much it dwarfs the new MacBook. Heck, the 11-inch MacBook Air actually has a larger footprint than the 12-inch MacBook.

The size of the new MacBook really reminds me more of an iPad with a built-in keyboard case instead of a laptop.

Using the MacBook for the last week, I've found traveling with it to be a joy. It's about a pound lighter than the 13-inch MacBook Air, and coupled with the smaller form factor, it just feels more portable. I had to check a few times to make sure I actually had the MacBook in my bag.

The size of the new MacBook really reminds me more of an iPad with a built-in keyboard case instead of a laptop. In practice, the new MacBook is just half a pound heavier than the original iPad — and considerably thinner.

But just because the MacBook is small doesn't mean it feels cheap: The anodized unibody construction feels solid, and aluminum now covers all sides of the laptop.

THE KEYBOARD

The centerpiece of the new MacBook is its new keyboard. Open it up and you see the keys immediately start to glow, beautifully backlit by individual LEDs under each keycap. The experience of opening up the new MacBook — especially in the gold color — is really something to behold.

The keyboard itself actually informs the rest of the design. Apple tells me the engineers created the size of the keyboard first, which then informed the width of the device and the size of the display.

As for the keys themselves, to focus on thinness, Apple wanted to eliminate what they deemed any imprecise movements that you find on typical keyboards. This is a full-size keyboard but it has a few new tricks.

The first is that there is a new butterfly mechanism underneath the keys. This means that there's less travel when pressing down on keys than what you find with a typical scissor mechanism.

Apple designed this to feel precise and consistent. Even though the keys are incredibly close to the frame — the travel is virtually nonexistent — it was still important that you feel like you're typing.

I did find that extended periods typing on the new MacBook keyboard tired my wrists a bit more than a traditional keyboard.

I've been typing on the MacBook for a little over a week and I have to say, I like the keyboard. I was worried that the lack of travel would make typing difficult, that it would be too much like typing on glass — but it's not. It's not quite as satisfying as typing on bigger, thicker keys, but it works well.

One consequence of the keys being so close to the frame is that the low amount of travel did make the typing process a bit more... painful. I don't suffer from carpal tunnel, but I did find that extended periods typing on the new MacBook keyboard tired my wrists a bit more than a traditional keyboard. Take breaks if you're going to be writing on this thing all the time — at least until you "break it in."

The thing that was harder to get used to was the size of the keys: They're now bigger. Apple made the keys 17% larger than standard MacBook keys.

This made my first few hours typing on the keyboard a bit difficult as a touch typist because I consistently felt off by a letter. In time though, I got used to the new keyboard.

Still, if you use other keyboards — or have used the standard Apple keyboard for close to a decade (as I have), it'll take some adjustment.

One nice touch on the keyboard: It has a new font. Apple's new San Francisco font from the Apple Watch is used on the keyboard for the new MacBook. Apple has used the same font (VAG Rounded) for its notebook keyboards since the original iBook released in 1999, but the new font looks at home on the new, larger keys.

FORCE TOUCH TRACKPAD

Right below the keyboard is Apple's brand-new Force Touch trackpad. Apple already has the best trackpads in the business. Force Touch just makes them that much better.

Also available on the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina, the new trackpad can detect how much pressure or force you put on the trackpad. It also has a new Taptic Engine that can engage when you have a certain amount of force. It feels like you're actually clicking on a button — but you're not. It's uncanny — but awesome.

Because it's pressure-sensitive, Apple can do some cool stuff based on how hard you press on something or what sort of gesture you do. A deep press on a word or phrase, for instance, brings up Spotlight-based information about that word, including a dictionary definition or Wikipedia entry.

You can also use Force Touch to invoke the QuickLook command (typically achieved by pressing the spacebar), for more information on a file, quick previews of something or other information.

Apple has an SDK available to developers so they can build Force Touch support into their own apps. I can't wait to see what my friend Brett Terpstra does with this stuff with some of his automated Mac utilities.

You can adjust how sensitive the touch and pressure controls are. I figured I'd be good with the default "medium" click pressure setting, but I found I actually liked it set at "light." It's nice that you can adjust this stuff, in any case. You can even turn off Force Touch entirely, if you prefer.

THE SCREEN

Ever since Apple introduced the first MacBook Pro with Retina Display in 2012, users have been clamoring to see the Retina display on a smaller device. We're close with the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, but now to see such a high-res screen on a laptop so thin is astounding.

The 12-inch screen has a resolution of 2,304 x 1,440, which equates to 226 pixels per inch (ppi). It has a 16:10 aspect ratio (the same as other Mac notebooks) and the bezel-free display means the screen is edge-to-edge glass.

The most amazing part of the screen — which is gorgeous to look at — is that Apple managed to make it incredibly energy efficient. Apple says it consumes 30% less power than any other MacBook (Air or Pro), and it does so while retaining the same 300 nits of brightness. Part of that was achieved with new low-power LEDs.

Colors pop. Text is crisp, and everything is visible from all angles ... the screen is great.

The MacBook's Retina screen is a joy to behold. As someone who has grown addicted to high-res displays, having such crisp visuals on a notebook this small is fantastic. In fact, I'm not sure how I'm going to return to my 13-inch MacBook Air.

Colors pop, text is crisp, and everything is visible from all angles. Using it outdoors or in low light was no problem — the screen is great.

PERFORMANCE

To make the new MacBook as thin and light as it is, Apple needed a new chip on the inside. The new MacBook uses Intel's Core M processor to deliver Apple's first fanless laptop.

The Core M Broadwell chip runs at just 5 watts. The model I tested has a 1.1GHz dual-core with Turbo Boost of up to 2.4GHz. You can also get the MacBook with a 1.2GHz dual-core Core M with a Turbo Boost of 2.6GHz or a 1.3GHz dual-core Core M with 2.9GHz Turbo Boost.

GeekBench test results on the machine I tested gave me a single-core score of 2,367 and a multi-core score of 4,489.

The numbers put the new MacBook on par with MacBook Airs from 2012 or so — but those results can be misleading.

First, this is just the CPU score. The new MacBook also has Intel's Intel HD Graphics 5300 chipset. It also has 8GB of 1600MHz LPDDR3 RAM and super-fast PCI-e flash storage. My review model had 256GB of storage, but it can also be configured with 512GB.

This easily felt every bit as fast and responsive as a 2012 MacBook Air I used daily for more than two years.

As a result, this easily felt every bit as fast and responsive as a 2012 MacBook Air I used daily for more than two years.

Which is to say, there can be slowdowns, particularly if I've got tons of tabs open in multiple web browsers.

Still, I've been impressed with the MacBook's ability to take whatever I've been throwing at it. My goal was to use it as my day-to-day machine — something even my 2014 MacBook often struggles with — and it held up admirably.

Can this do Photoshop CC 2014? Well, it can, but you're better off running something like Acorn. I also wouldn't want to do any serious video or audio editing on the new MacBook. But it managed to do 95% of what I do in a workday without much fuss.

It managed to do 95% of what I do in a workday without much fuss.

Because there is no fan, the MacBook can get warm. Most of the time I was using it on a desk so I didn't feel any heat, but if I used it on my lap and was watching tons of YouTube videos or had lots of tabs open while Spotify or iTunes was playing, I could feel it getting warm.

It never got hot — and it never got uncomfortable — but it could get warm. Apple says OS X Yosemite, along with the sensors built into the MacBook, will ensure the laptop doesn't overheat.

9 hours

Battery life when browsing the web

10 hours

Battery life of iTunes movie playback

BATTERY LIFE

Apple managed to make the logic board on the new MacBook absolutely tiny. It's 67% as large as the logic board on the 11-inch MacBook Air and it truly takes up almost no space at all.

Apple used the extra space to pack the new MacBook with tons of battery power. Apple says you can get nine hours of battery life browsing the web and 10 hours of iTunes movie playback.

In my experience, doing what I do, I could easily get seven hours of battery life on a singe charge. Keep in mind, this usually means I'm playing music, keeping tons of web browsers open, running Mail and typing away in a text editor.

Your own usage will vary, but it's safe to say this is a machine that offers fantastic battery performance — especially for its size.

USB-C

The most controversial aspect of the new MacBook is the decision to eschew typical connectors in exchange for the new USB-C standard. The MacBook brandishes only a single USB-C port (and a headphone jack).

This port is magical, however. It can transmit data at USB 3.1 speeds (which are about 5Gbps) and it can connect to DisplayPort 1.2 video output. It's also compatible with HDMI and VGA.

This is actually great because it means you can do a ton of stuff with one port, but the downside is... there's just one port.

Apple sells multiport adapters that will connect to standard USB as well as a digital AV adapter that includes a VGA or HDMI connector, USB and a pass-through port to charge.

These adaptors do not come in the box — you'll have to buy them separately — but we expect to see plenty of docking options available for extending the USB-C world.

I like that Apple is embracing one standard port. But I do hate that users will have to buy a ton of new dongles.

You can actually output the new MacBook to UHD and 4K monitors at 30Hz for UHD and 24Hz at 4K. That won't be good enough for doing fast-moving work — but it'll be fine for displaying images and some text.

I like USB-C. I like that Apple is embracing one standard port. But I do hate that users will have to buy a ton of new dongles. Eventually USB-C cables are going to be more common and I expect to see a ton of them around, but for early adopters, this will be a pain.

I really wish Apple had been able to put two USB-C ports on the new MacBook. The worst part of the original MacBook Air was its single USB port. Apple rectified that with the 2010 MacBook Air, and it was a smart move.

I can see a future without full-size USB ports. It won't happen overnight, but the shift will happen.

I don't know how Apple would fit a second USB-C port on the current chassis, but having two ports would make the machine better. It's not great to have to buy an adapter just to be able to charge a laptop and have it plugged into an external display at the same time.

That said, I think a lot of the hand-wringing over the lack of ports is misguided. The idea behind this MacBook is that it's for people who are already living life where files are in the cloud and communication is wireless.

With Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and wireless tech such as AirPlay, the idea of having a nearly wireless office isn't necessarily a fantasy anymore.

Just as it was remarkably easy for me to give up having an optical drive on my computer, I can see a future without full-size USB ports. It won't happen overnight, but the shift will happen.

BOTTOM LINE

The starting price of $1,299 feels right for the new MacBook. It's a quality machine and yes, there are some trade-offs, but it it is absolutely the thinnest and lightest Mac you can buy.

The big question anyone eyeing the new MacBook will need to answer is, "What do I value most?"

If you value speed and performance above all else, you want a MacBook Pro. If you want something portable, fairly powerful and extensible, the MacBook Air is a great fit.

The MacBook, as it exists today, is really for a very particular group of people who want the thinnest, lightest MacBook they can get. It's not intended to be a professional machine — though I can see this as a new standard issue for some executives, those who value portability above all.

This is the notebook for people who love their iPad but want something with a real keyboard and a bigger screen. It's a great second computer to complement an iMac or a larger MacBook Pro.

And the MacBook might be the ideal "student" computer — I would have killed to have something this thin and light in college.

The most important thing about the new MacBook, to me, isn't necessarily what it is now, but what it represents. In five years, the sea of MacBook Airs and MacBook Air-style machines we see now at Starbucks will be replaced by machines that look more like the new MacBook.